


A Birthday

by parka_girl



Series: Not Entirely AU [5]
Category: SHINee, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 11:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17621930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parka_girl/pseuds/parka_girl
Summary: He pushes it all out of his mind, ignoring the look Taehyung gives him as they pile out of the van for whatever music show they're going to. Later he'll feel bad that he was so sullen. He'll be happy they won, happy it's his birthday, happy he'll get to spend time with fans and then the day will be over.





	A Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> This fic got lost in my Google Drive. It takes place in October of 2017.

It's the best kind of autumn weather, with the right amount of chill in the air and glorious sunshine. Perfect for extra large sweaters and steaming hot cups of coffee. In a the movie version of Jimin's life, he'd be at a coffee shop, waiting for Taemin to meet him. He'd be sitting by the window, hands wrapped around his coffee, watching the door. Taemin would walk in, order his drink and then join Jimin. He'd push a gift across the table and it would be exactly what Jimin wanted. They'd go out to dinner, then back to Jimin's flat or maybe Taemin's. Or, Jimin thinks, letting his eyes shut for a second, maybe they live together. Maybe it's a date after work, or at lunch. 

The van he's in stops suddenly, jerking him free of his daydreams. He looks out the window and he wishes it was raining. 

He pushes it all out of his mind, ignoring the look Taehyung gives him as they pile out of the van for whatever music show they're going to. Later he'll feel bad that he was so sullen. He'll be happy they won, happy it's his birthday, happy he'll get to spend time with fans and then the day will be over. 

But in this moment, behind the mask he's wearing, he almost wishes for something different. 

His phone buzzes while they're changing. He doesn't read it, not right away. Instead he ignores it, pretending he doesn't know who it's from. But eventually, after his hair and makeup are finished, he looks. It's not just one message, it's a long string of them. 

Jimin reads them, off in a corner by himself. 

There is an ache in Jimin's heart that he ignores. He holds it close, rarely letting it out because once it's out, he's not sure he can reel it back in. But in the middle of his birthday, right in that moment, the ache is so big that Jimin thinks it will swallow him whole. 

Taemin is so many things and Jimin loves all of them. But the messages he reads and then rereads, are the only gift outside of Taemin himself showing up, that Jimin would've wanted. He's sure, when they do see each other, Taemin will have a proper gift for him. But this ... 

Jimin reads the message again. They tell a story, the alternate world where they are not celebrities. Where Taemin takes Jimin out for his birthday, where they eat expensive food and go out dancing. It's different from his own, earlier daydream, but at the same time it's not altogether dissimilar. There is a longing that Jimin reads inbetween the lines. 

The selca, the last message, is cheesy enough to give Jimin space to recover. He takes one of himself, messaging Taemin back and stifles the urge to call. He will do that later, when he's alone and it's not longer exactly his birthday.

He looks up from his phone and sees Taehyung watching him. Jimin looks away, Taehyung knows him too well, better than anyone else. Taehyung seems to always know what's bothering Jimin, without him even needing to say anything. He is equal parts annoyed and relieved. Having to explain his heartsickness would be too embarrassing. 

He hears a chair scrape across the floor, feels a soft whoosh of air as Taehyung flops down next to him. Jimin says nothing, he doesn't need to. Instead he rests his head on Taehyung's shoulder, eyes closed. He won't cry, the sadness he feels is not that. The ache gradually recedes, replaced by anticipation and nervousness. 

Taehyung's hand finds his own and they sit, quietly, waiting for time to pass. 

That night, after the vlive is over and Jimin is alone, everyone else gone to bed. Only then does he message Taemin. The reply comes immediately, as Jimin expected. His phone buzzes a few seconds later and he will spend the next hour, or more, on the phone. He will go to sleep late, satisfied in the end. 

When they do get a second, between Bangtan's promotions and the start of Taemin's comeback, to meet, it will be everything they've both wanted. Alone, in a hotel or a norebang or even Taemin's own flat, they will spend what little time they have however they want. 

It won't be Jimin's daydream or Taemin's, but it won't exactly matter, either. 

After they say goodnight and Jimin crawls into bed, he reminds himself that their lives are not their own. That without the people around him, he'd never have met Taemin. He knows that he can't have what he wants exactly how he wants it and he knows that Taemin, too, understands this. They talk about this, when they are completely alone with no one to judge. 

Before he slips into sleep, Jimin glances at his phone and sees one last message from Taemin. It's full of emojis and ridiculous, but it's enough to make him smile. To get him through the next day and the one after. It will sustain them both until it doesn't. Until they are together, once again.


End file.
